Private Eye is blind to Hong Kong’s civilisation

Private Eye is the UK’s best and most popular satirical newspaper, and hence just best newspaper. An equivalent in Hong Kong would be marvellous. (Tell me if you know one!). As it is studiously almost entirely only available in print form, I have it delivered to my tiny letterbox every fortnight. You can borrow my copy after I finish with it, if you like.

It is not perfect, however. Its Nooks and Corners column concerning architecture is, to this layman, extremely conservative and arrogant, rarely liking any new construction that does not genuflect to old buildings and styles. Usually I just skip it.

But I couldn’t skip over this paragraph in Issue 1364 (the 18 April to 1 May 2014 edition), about some proposals to build tall buildings in central London, some with over 20 (!!) storeys, after an inexplicable note that these buildings will be residential rather than commercial:

But are they [the relatively tall buildings] being build in the right places? High buildings, of dubious merit, suddenly seem to be springing up everywhere, subject to little planning control and regardless of any strategic plan for London, threatening to make the banks of the Thames look more like Dubai or Hong Kong than a supposedly civilised European city.

As someone who has never faced anything even approaching verbal abuse in Hong Kong, unlike in London where walking alone at night in many areas is a stupid idea, I’m curious about this racist’s definition of what constitutes “civilisation”.

Yes – as I said (and all the articles say)! – Stephen Vines – who still writes a column for the SCMP, and works for RTHK and various other people. I don’t have his email address, but I guess stephen.vinesscmp.com might work.